Licenses and credentials serve an important public safety function to behavioral health fields. It is important for supervisors to model good habits with licensure to their supervisees, including displaying their license, renewing their license on time, and keeping up with continuing education.
Many behavioral health professions in New Mexico have an independent licensure that providers can gain through a combination of practice experience and supervision. While each individual is responsible for their own supervision process, it is good practice for the supervisor as the senior clinician to consult with the licensing and supervision standards for their various supervisees to avoid providing erroneous information that can delay a supervisee’s progression to independent licensure.
The following is a listing of the behavioral health licensing and credentialing boards in the state with a brief overview of the supervision rules specific to these boards, as well as where to find more details, as of June 2018.
- New Mexico Board of Nursing: http://nmbon.sks.com/
- Supervision is required for some types of nurses, primarily those given a permitto-practice prior to being fully licensed.
- RN permit-to-practice: supervision from an RN only. To see the current rules on this, see the NMAC “Title 16 Occupational and Professional
Licensing → Chapter 12 Nursing and Health Care Related Providers → Part 2 Nurse Licensure → 16.12.2.10 Licensure Requirements for Registered and Practical Nurses” - LPN: all LPNs must receive direct supervision to do any procedures that goes “beyond basic preparation for practical nursing.” To see the current rules on this, see the NMAC “Title 16 Occupational and Professional Licensing → Chapter 12 Nursing and Health Care Related Providers → Part 2 Nurse Licensure → 16.12.2.10 Licensure Requirements for Registered and Practical Nurses”
- GNP permit-to-practice: supervision can be from a physician, CNP, or CNS; direct supervision is specifically required to prescribe. To see the current rules on this, see the NMAC “Title 16 Occupational and Professional Licensing → Chapter 12 Nursing and Health Care Related Providers → Part 2 Nurse Licensure → 16.12.2.13 Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP)”
- GCNS permit-to-practice: supervision can be from a CNS, CNP, or a physician in their specialty; direct supervision is specifically required to prescribe. To see the current rules on this, see the NMAC “Title 16 Occupational and Professional Licensing → Chapter 12 Nursing and Health Care Related Providers → Part 2 Nurse Licensure → 16.12.2.15 Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Certified Nurse Specialist (CNS)”
- RN permit-to-practice: supervision from an RN only. To see the current rules on this, see the NMAC “Title 16 Occupational and Professional
- For all nurses, supervision can only be done face-to-face and with an appropriate provider who is within the organization at which the supervisee is working. For more details, see the NMAC “Title 16 Occupational and Professional Licensing → Chapter 12 Nursing and Health Care Related Providers → Part 2 Nurse Licensure → 16.12.2.7 Definitions”
- Supervision is required for some types of nurses, primarily those given a permitto-practice prior to being fully licensed.
- New Mexico Board of Social Work Examiners: http://www.rld.state.nm.us/boards/social_work.aspx
- To earn an LCSW or LISW, LMSWs are required to complete a certain number of supervision hours and hours in practice (which includes all work and is not limited to client contact hours), with only some of the supervision hours being permissible through group supervision. As of June 2018, this is 90 hours of supervision and 3,600 practice hours, with 20 hours of group supervision permitted. To see the current rules on this, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 63 Social Workers → 16.63.11 NMAC: Independent Social Worker → 16.63.11.8 Qualification for Licensure”
- LMSWs can only earn supervision with supervisors approved by the Board of Social Work Examiners. To become an approved supervisor, the clinician must take a supervision class and then submit the certificate along with a form to the board.
- To find a list of approved classes, see the website’s “Forms and Applications → Supervision Classes → Approved Supervision Classes”
- To apply to become an approved supervisor, see the website’s “Forms and Applications → Supervision Forms → Supervision General Directions and Application”
- Who is an approved supervisor? See the Approved Supervisors List under the website’s “Forms and Applications → Supervision Classes → Approved Supervisors List”
- LMSWs can only receive a limited number of supervision hours from an approved supervisor who is not an LCSW or LISW. As of June 2018, this is 30 hours. To see the current number of permissible hours, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 63 Social Workers → 16.63.11 NMAC: Independent Social Worker → 16.63.11.8 Qualification for Licensure”
- Telesupervision is permitted for all supervision hours. For more details, see the website’s “website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 63 Social Workers → 16.63.1 NMAC: General Provisions → 16.63.1.7 Definitions”
- New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board: http://www.rld.state.nm.us/boards/counseling_and_therapy_practice.aspx
- All counseling licenses require a certain number of supervision hours and client contact hours to be completed. The amount varies by license.
- LPCC or LPAT: As of June 2018, LMHCs must complete 3000 hours of client contact and 100 hours of supervision, with no limits on individual versus group supervision. Some of these client contact hours can be done in an internship, depending on type of license.
- LPCC: Up to 1000 client contact hours can be done in an internship. To see the current rules on this, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 27 Counselors and Therapist
Practitioners → 16.27.4 NMAC: Requirements for Licensure as a Professional Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LPCC) → 16.27.4.11 Documentation Required of Licensure” - LPAT: Up to 750 client contact hours can be done in an internship. To see the current rules on this, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 27 Counselors and Therapist Practitioners → 16.27.7 NMAC: Requirements for Licensure as a Professional Art Therapist (LPAT) → 16.27.7.10 Applicants for Licensure”
- LPCC: Up to 1000 client contact hours can be done in an internship. To see the current rules on this, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 27 Counselors and Therapist
- LMFT: As of June 2018, LAMFTs must complete 1000 hours of marriage and family client contact and 200 hours of supervision; up to 100 of the supervision hours can be done in group. To see the current rules on this, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 27 Counselors and Therapist Practitioners → 16.27.6 NMAC: Requirements for a Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) → 16.27.6.9 Applicants for Licensure”
- LADAC: As of June 2018, LSAAs must complete 1000 hours of client contact and 50 hours of supervision. To see the current rules on this, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 27 Counselors and Therapist Practitioners → 16.27.11 NMAC: Requirements for Licensure with Examination as an Alcohol and Drug Abuse Counselor (LADAC) → 16.27.11.9 Applicants for Licensure”
- LPCC or LPAT: As of June 2018, LMHCs must complete 3000 hours of client contact and 100 hours of supervision, with no limits on individual versus group supervision. Some of these client contact hours can be done in an internship, depending on type of license.
- All counseling licenses can receive supervision from most types of independently licensed behavioral health providers, with no limits on hours from interdisciplinary supervisors. However, most of the licenses require the supervisor to have specialization in the respective field (e.g. substance use for those seeking LADAC, art therapy for those seeking LPAT, marriage/family therapy for those seeking LMFT). To see the current rules on this, see the “appropriate supervision” section for each individual license’s rules, the
directions to which are above. - There are no limits indicated for any of the counseling licenses regarding supervision to be done by televideo versus face-to-face. To see the current rules on this, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 27 Counselors and Therapist Practitioners → 16.27.19 NMAC: Approved Supervisors”
- All counseling licenses require a certain number of supervision hours and client contact hours to be completed. The amount varies by license.
- New Mexico Medical Board: http://www.nmmb.state.nm.us/
- To become a licensed medical doctor (which includes psychiatrists), a postgraduate trainee must work for at least 3 years and have their work observed directly by at least 2 physicians, chiefs of staff, or department chairs (no specific number of hours indicated) who can recommend them for licensure. To see the current rules on this, see the website’s “Rules and Statues -> Governing Statutes and Rules → Physicians: Licensure Requirements → 16.10.2.10 Medical License by Endorsement”
- New Mexico Office of Peer Recovery and Engagement: http://newmexico.networkofcare.org/mh/content.aspx?id=11894
- Certified Peer Support Workers do not have any specific supervision requirements. Please see their website for more information.
- New Mexico Psychologist Examiners Board: http://www.rld.state.nm.us/boards/Psychologist_Examiners.aspx
- To become a licensed psychologist, an associate must complete a certain number of hours in practice (some of which need to be client contact hours) while under supervision; pre-doctoral supervised experience can account for some of these hours. As of June 2018, 3000 practice hours are required, with 750 of these hours being client contact hours; up to 1500 hours in an APA-approved pre-doctoral internship or 750 hours in a non-APA-approved predoctoral internship can be applied to the total 3000. For see the current rules on this, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 22 Psychologists and Psychologist Associates → 16.22.6 NMAC: Psychologists – Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Supervised Experience → 16.22.6.8 Supervised Experience Leading Towards Licensure”
- Psychologist associates can only receive supervision from psychologists. There are no limits on whether this supervision is individual or in a group. For more details on this, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 22 Psychologists and Psychologist Associates → 16.22.6 NMAC: Psychologists – Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Supervised Experience → 16.22.6.8 Supervised Experience Leading Towards Licensure”
- Predoctoral supervision can occur with an off-site supervisor with no indicated limits, while a postdoctoral supervision only allows for some telesupervision if the supervisor and supervisee live far apart. As of June 2018, 2 hours of telesupervision per month are allowed if the supervisee and supervisor live more than 100 hours apart. For more details on this, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 22 Psychologists and Psychologist Associates → 16.22.6 NMAC: Psychologists – Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Supervised Experience → 16.22.6.8 Supervised Experience Leading Towards Licensure & 16.22.6.9 Conditions of Postdoctoral Supervision”
- Postdoctoral supervision requires a documented supervisory plan approved by the board in order for the board to accept the hours. This plan can be done at the end of the supervision time, but is recommended to be submitted prior to or at the beginning of the supervised practice. For details on what this plan should contain, see the website’s “Rules and Laws → Chapter 22 Psychologists and Psychologist Associates → 16.22.6 NMAC: Psychologists – Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Supervised Experience → 16.22.6.10 Postdoctoral Supervisory Plan”